Knowledge
Psychologist Shweta Answers Educators’ Queries On How To Tackle Uncertainty & Anxiety
ScooNews got in touch with the expert with over two decades of rich experience in both Academia and Corporate world, to help answer the queries of educators who’re emotionally struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Founder of The Quench, a learning and development platform, Shweta Ahluwalia is known for her motivational thoughts. ScooNews got in touch with the expert with over two decades of rich experience in both Academia and Corporate world, to help answer the queries of educators who’re emotionally struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic. Let’s see what she has to suggest:
Teachers will have a crucial role in the recovery phase when the schools reopen. How do I prepare myself after working from home for all these months? It feels like a sabbatical already.
Trying times are the best appraisal of our truest capabilities.
We are the teachers, the mentors. We can choose to limit or expand our contribution in a child's life, in the completion of prescribed curriculums, and other related activities. As the hands that sculpt the future success stories of these children, it doesn’t really matter if you do it while sitting in your living room or conducting an actual class full of students.
When in doubt, you need to run a litmus test on yourselves. Ask yourself – Do I have what it takes to shape up the future of these kids? If the answer is Yes, it means now is the best time to demonstrate your skills to cope with what it takes to ride over the wave called Corona crisis.
Our expectation from ourselves will either make this phase a challenge or turn it into an opportunity to be the catalytic source of inspiration for future leaders.
I don’t get time for my family as I get fully consumed in forming the new curriculum, taking online classes and doing the assessment. How do I ensure that my own kids are not left behind?
The day I opted to be a teacher, I was clear that I was going to be responsible for not just a child or two that I bear, but hundreds that I would be entrusted with. Moreover, this is a perfect opportunity to build the Success Assuring skills in your own children aka Life Skills. In a recent report from January 2020, the experts called it a skill-set that’s required with the school authorities, parents & children through this phase.
a) Creative Thinking: How to innovate ways to design learning solutions for children, parents & school
b) Adaptability: How to cope effectively to learn new tools and pedagogy
c) Emotional Intelligence: How to react & respond positively and constructively
d) Persuasion: How to persuade children to learn enthusiastically in the new landscape
As they say ‘actions speak louder than words,’ I believe that we, as teacher/parents who teach and demonstrate continuously, will be able to build these skills in our children.
I’m a school Principal and although I’m doing my best to support my teachers live through this evolutionary time and help them adapt to this new online/remote way of teaching, I also want to back them emotionally. How do I do that, kindly suggest?
The concerns of school management are absolutely valid. These are the times that demand the Principals to wear multiple feathers on their hat. They are the leaders, the mentors, the counsellors, the friend and above all, the captain of the ship.
a) As leaders, they ought to be optimistic and not just positive. Positive, may at times, is a state of denial of reality. However, such situations demand leader to honestly convey that times are hard & tough, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel and we shall get through it together.
b) As mentors, they need to lead by example. Demonstrate what needs to be done, address queries and create a strong redressal mechanism.
c) As counsellors, they should maintain calm amidst the chaos and lend a patient hearing to everyone. What is heard, often heals.
d) As a friend, they have to bake in slip lanes for those who struggle to cope. Calibrate the strengths of each team member and align responsibilities and support accordingly.
e) As the captain of the ship, they must ensure the logistics & operational ease of executing the technological switch to new teaching tools.
Now that many organizations are laying-off, I feel my employment, too, is under a threat. How do I calm myself and focus on the present?
It's the right time to do a reality check. There is NO WAY that those who are instrumental in helping their employers meet their financial goals will be laid off. Period!
However, those who had taken salary as the financial reward for the "hours spent" at work, might have to re-invent their productivity metrics. That is, don't just count your productivity by the number of hours spent at the workplace, but by the revenue generated through your work…even if you’re working from home.
Taking online classes has taken a toll on my health. Suggest some ways to deal with physical pain.
Coronavirus crisis is based on the theory of ‘Survival of the Fittest.
1) Those of us who have had a physically fit lifestyle will hail
2) Those of us who are mentally tough will thrive
3) Those of us who have been productive at work will survive
It is time to introspect. Where is the gap? The gap between the acquired skills and the required skills to adapt to the new expected work style.
1) Is it your physical well-being? If yes, start with an exercise regime as per your body type.
2) If it is the little voice in your mind that scares you of the hardships ahead, be mindful of what you read and who you listen to because that is the real culprit manipulating your thoughts.
3) If it is job-insecurity that is the real sleep invader then revisit your productivity at work. No boss will palm off an employee who is revenue-generating, directly or indirectly.